The design research community is beginning to recognize the organizing capacity of form as a scientific method of its own right. The aim of this study was to a) develop a pedagogically framed case study method that applied a participatory action research approach and b) create a 3-D form model bridging geometric- to organic structures. A 10-step-concept-translation-form method was developed which resulted in a “Evolution of form” model with two axes: The first horizontal axis presents a sequence of geometrically derived forms that gradually take on organic qualities of convexities and concavities. The second axis expands the model in a vertical dimension to include a bipolar spectrum at each stage. This vertical dimension opens up a dichotomy between congruent and incongruent properties in relation to original features of the geometric form.
The discussion deals with the active formgiving process; the need for sculptural awareness and the inner sense of form; validity of the created method and model and finally the pros and cons of aesthetical abstractions that build on geometric references.